Wealthy elites overconsume water for their own personal leisure, leaving the poor in cities around the world without access to basic water, research has found.
Social inequality exacerbates urban water crises more than climate change or population growth, because the wealthiest use water to build swimming pools, gardens and wash cars when others lack basic living conditions.
The international team of researchers from the UK, Sweden and the Netherlands focused their research on Cape Town, South Africa, but found similar problems in 80 cities around the world, including: London, Miami, Barcelona, Beijing, Tokyo, Melbourne, Istanbul, Cairo, Moscow, Bangalore, Chennai, Jakarta, Sydney, Maputo, Harare, São Paulo, Mexico City and Rome.
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Study co-author Professor Hannah Crocker, a hydrologist at the University of Reading, said: “Climate change and population growth mean water is becoming an even more precious resource in big cities.
“But we’ve shown that social inequality is the biggest problem with poor people’s access to water for their daily needs.
“Over the past 20 years, more than 80 of the world’s largest cities have suffered from water scarcity due to drought and unsustainable water use, but our projections show that this crisis could turn into a crisis as the gap between rich and poor widens in many parts of the world. Worse. World.
“This shows the strong link between social, economic and environmental inequalities. Ultimately, unless we develop more equitable ways to share water in our cities, everyone will suffer the consequences.”
England will need around 4 billion liters of extra water by 2050, according to the UK’s National Infrastructure Council.
leakage
The government says half of this will be met through increased supply, with the other half coming from greater water efficiency, reduced demand and reduced waste.
As part of a water plan published on Tuesday, the government wants to reduce UK household water consumption from the current level of 144 to 110 liters per person per day by 2050.
It said it also wanted to see a 50 per cent reduction in leakage from water company infrastructure and a 15 per cent reduction in non-domestic water use.
The current study was led by Dr Elisa Savelli of Uppsala University in Sweden, and colleagues from the Universities of Reading, VU University Amsterdam and Manchester Universities.
Over spending
They analyzed household water use in Cape Town to understand differences between social classes, dividing them into five groups ranging from elites (those who live in spacious houses with large gardens and swimming pools) to informal residents (a person who lives in a shack on the outskirts).
Elite and upper-middle-income households make up less than 14% of Cape Town’s population but use more than half of the city’s water.
Informal and low-income households make up 62 percent of the population but use only 27 percent of the water.
Reactive efforts to manage water supplies, such as developing more efficient infrastructure, are insufficient and counterproductive, the researchers say.
Instead, they say a more proactive approach should be taken, aimed at reducing excess spending by the elite.
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Danny Halpin is the PA Environmental Correspondent.
